Deep Dark Souths programme note for The Beauty and Meaning of Autographs is comprehensive and clear. The company express their desire to revive interest in a forgotten master, short story writer Stefan Zweig, through the exploration of his philosophy of the creative process and of psychologies and emotion; theyalso discuss his Jewish connections and suffering under the Nazi regime. Its a shame that this just does not translate into the production itself, which is largely confused and at times incomprehensible. Each member of the young cast of six plays Zweig at different times, which could add interest to his depiction, but things quickly become confusing as there is no unity in the portrayal; sometimes Zweig is authoritative and angry, sometimes blasé, and although we recognise his character changes in response to certain situations, it can look like some actors invest passion in their shared role - Daniel Frampton stands out - and others just dont; these latter are simply not believable. In terms of other characterisations, we momentarily see flickers of better performances, and perhaps these will improve over the run, but there is throughout a sense that the cast have not been directed clearly and are struggling.The linearity of the piece also struggles, and fails, to come across. It is evident, for example, that we begin with the end of the piece, where Zweig is washed up on a shoreline he thinks is Russias, but apparently isnt. The significance of this scene, which is repeated at the close, was a mystery to me - was he in heaven having committed suicide (as the programme told me he did)? Or in Brazil, where he moved with his secretary (again in the note)? Perhaps I was missing something, but I fear not.References to the process of storytelling vital to Zweig abound in the piece, and one would hope that the play would centre on this interest. Although the power of Zweigs own words on the subject are often lost through poor acting, there are bright touches in other respects. Two interrogation scenes which parallel Zweigs experience at school and his later life as a Jewish writer feature five actors tapping out fraught rhythms on folders, which raises tension. Later, Zweigs heart beat is represented by an actor knocking on a book; his life-blood is shown to be captured in writing. At other times though, things look cliched. In a speech about editing work, the cutting of words is presented lazily by Zweig touching singular actors on their shoulder, their cue to leave the space.It is unfortunate that a devised piece about an evidently fascinating man should be so forgettable. Although there were some stand out performances and moments of merit, it seems Deep Dark South need to command more consistency if they want to do justice to Stefan Zweig.
